Encyclopedia
Anthrozoology is the interdisciplinary study of relationships between humans and other animals.
- Anthrozoology
- human-animal studies
- critical animal studies
- interactions
1. Introduction
Anthrozoology is an emerging multidisciplinary field, defined as the study of the interactions between humans and other animals.[1][2] The discipline began following reports of numerous potential mental and physical health benefits associated with animal interactions [3], resulting in the creation of the Anthrozoos journal in 1987 and Society & Animals journal in 1993[4][5].
2. Anthrozoology
The discipline now encompasses a wide range of topics including public policy, one health initiatives, species commodification, animal-assisted interventions (AAI), conservation practices, ecotourism, companion animals, animal welfare and companion species. Research draws from the fields of psychology, anthropology, law, history, veterinary medicine, ecotourism studies, arts, linguistics and many more. The International Society for Anthrozoology, formed in 1991[4], has dedicated itself to 'the scientific and scholarly study of human-animal interactions', and several other international organizations exist to support the exploration of these interactions. [6] [7][8] Universities have launched anthrozoology research groups and conferences, including working groups at the University of Exeter (Exeter Anthrozoology as Symbiotic Ethics), the University of Canterbury (New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies), and the Gheorghe Zane Institute of Economic and Social Research (Anthrozoology Symposium).[8][9][10] Anthrozoology topics courses can be found globally[11] and two US schools now offer anthrozoology-designated undergraduate degrees.[12][13] Masters degree courses have arisen in the US and UK[14][15], but the University of Exeter currently offers the only PhD specifically labelled as Anthrozoology. Postgraduate and doctoral programs in Animal Studies, Critical Animal Studies, and Human Animal Studies exist globally.[16][17][11]
Some scholars separate anthrozoology from similar fields, such as critical animal studies, due to concerns that anthrozoology 'prioritizes the human angle and to all intents and purposes objectifies the animals involved.'[18] However, many current anthrozoology scholars place consideration for the agency and perspective of non-human animals on an equal or greater footing to that of humans. Thanks to the interdisciplinary nature of anthrozoology, these 'sub-fields' may foster understanding rather than creating chasms in the field.
Essential readings and authors in anthrozoology include: Deleuze and Guattari's A Thousand Plateus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia[19], Jakob von Uexkull's A stroll throught the worlds of animals and men: A picture book of invisible worlds[20] Donna Haraway's When Species Meet[21], John Bradshaw's The Animals Among Us: The New Science of Anthrozoology[22], and Hal Herzog's Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals[23], Samantha Hurn's Humans and Other Animals: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Human-Animal Interactions[24], and Margo DeMello's Animals and Society: An Introduction to Human-Animal Studies[25], etc.
References
- Anthrozoology . Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 2021-5-11
- Bradshaw, J.W.S.. The Encyclopedia of Applied Animal Behavior and Welfare; Mills, D.S.; Marchant-Forde, J.N., Eds.; CABI: Cambridge and Oxfordshire, 2010; pp. 28.
- Anthrozoology . Britannica. Retrieved 2021-5-11
- The Origins of ISAZ . International Society of Anthrozoology. Retrieved 2021-5-11
- Shapiro, Kenneth J.; Editor's Introduction to Society and Animals. Society & Animals 1993, 1 (1), 1, https://doi.org/10.1163/156853093X00091.
- International Society of Anthrozoology . International Society of Anthrozoology. Retrieved 2021-5-11
- Anthrozoology Research Group . Anthrozoology Research Group. Retrieved 2021-5-11
- Exeter Anthrozoology as Symbiotic Ethics (EASE) Working Group . University of Exeter/EASE. Retrieved 2021-5-11
- New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies . NZCHAZ. Retrieved 2021-6-21
- Anthrozoology Symposium . Anthrozoology Symposium--Gh. Zane ICES. Retrieved 2021-6-21
- Human-Animal Studies: Animal Studies/Anthrozoology . Animals & Society. Retrieved 2021-5-11
- Beacon College Anthrozoology . Beacon College. Retrieved 2021-5-11
- Carroll College Anthrozoology . Carroll College. Retrieved 2021-5-11
- MA Anthrozoology . University of Exeter. Retrieved 2021-5-11
- Anthrozoology . Canisius. Retrieved 2021-5-11
- University of Canterbury . University of Canterbury. Retrieved 2021-6-21
- Purdue University . Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine. Retrieved 2021-6-21
- Hurn, Samantha; What's in a name?. Anthropology Today 2010, 26 (3), 27.
- Deleuze, G. and Guattari, F.. A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia, translation by Massumi, B.; University of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis, 1987; pp. 1.
- von Uexkull, J.; A stroll through the worlds of animals and men: A picture book of invisible worlds. Semiotica 1992, 89-4, 319-391, https://doi.org/10.1515/semi.1992.89.4.319.
- Haraway, D.. When Species Meet; University of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis and London, 2008; pp. 360.
- Bradshaw, J. . The Animals Among Us: The New Science of Anthrozoology; Penguin: London, 2018; pp. 384.
- Herzog, H.. Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals; Harper Perennial: USA, 2010; pp. 368.
- Hurn, S.. Humans and Other Animals: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Human-Animal Interactions (Anthropology, Culture and Society); Pluto Press: London, 2012; pp. 264.
- DeMello, M.. Animals and Society: An Introduction to Human-Animal Studies; Columbia University Press: New York, 2021; pp. 616.
